It's Tim Cook's Apple Now

By Herr Hansa:One of the first tenets of competition is to not follow your competition. Doing so would simply validate their moves, and make your company appear to be chasing the leader. In the world of smartphones, those leaders are Google (GOOG) Android, and Samsung (SSNLF.PK). Volumes might seem to indicate a winner, but profits tell a different story. In technology, the most profitable companies are the most successful. As The Verge recently noted, technology changes are forcing some companies to play catch up, or alter their platforms to fit in with 4G technology.Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone to the smartphone market, with hopes of reaching 1% of overall sales. It was a realistic approach, and a humble beginning. There has been some criticism toward Tim Cook that he is carrying on theComplete Story »

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Apple Inc. (AAPL) made its long-awaited debut on the largest global wireless network on Friday. After six long years of negotiations, the company introduced its flagship product to the biggest consumer base by partnering up with China Mobile Ltd. (CHL), which has opened its newly launched 4G LTE network for the tech giant.
The arrival of the iPhone to the this market is seen as a huge win for Apple, which has struggled as of late to continue its growth and innovation as it had once been doing under its late founder and former chief executive Steve Jobs.

The latest smartphone sales data revealed by WPP’s Kantar Worldpanel ComTech shows that Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS operating system has achieved its highest-ever market share in urban China. The report reveals that one in every four smartphones sold in urban China was an iPhone.

Since 2011, Samsung Group has had the title of the world’s largest smartphone maker. But that moniker may change this year, if recent trends are anything to go by. In the last quarter of 2014, Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus piqued consumer interest, as consumers globally loved the shift to larger screens and the holiday season only helped boost Apple’s flagship smartphone sales to 74.5 million units, allowing it to rake in record revenue for the just concluded quarter.

If you believe the doom-and-gloom Apple pundits, the company has lost its ability to innovate. Last year, Apple CEO Tim Cook promised new products in 2014, but we've now made it through most of the year without much beyond some minor upgrades to Macs. Meanwhile, competitors like Samsung and Google have been cranking out new products like big-screen phones, smartwatches, and fancy headphones all year long.

Heard on the grapevine: Apple Inc. (AAPL) has introduced a cheaper variant of its iPhone 5c with 8 gigabytes of memory (8GB) in the UK, Germany, Australia, France and China, and is expected to soon introduce the same in the US. The company has also resurrected its fourth-generation iPad with 16GB memory and improvements to the tablet’s camera and processor.

San Francisco (AFP) - Apple's mystery unveiling on Tuesday is expected to be a watershed moment for the California giant -- and the entire tech industry. Here are key things to watch for:- Can Tim Cook step up? -

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) seeks to keep pace with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by attempting to revive its “Wallet” service before the mobile payments department gets dominated by Apple Pay. If history is any indication, then Apple’s entry into the market does not bode well for already established players such as PayPal, as Apple is known to enter an industry and completely change the dynamics of how it operates.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has managed to occupy the number one spot in the Chinese smartphone market. This is the fourth year since 2011 when iPhone sales have converged with that of SAMSUNG ELECT LTD(F)(OTCMKTS:SSNLF).

Let me start by saying that I'm a loyal Apple customer and shareholder--so save the kneejerk fanboy defense for someone else. I have a lot of respect for the folks who are running Apple, but I think they are making a big mistake. I think Apple is letting its obsession with humongous profits blind it to a critical trend in the mobile industry.